


Aftermath

by orphan_account



Series: The Telepath's Immortal [12]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst, Episode: s01e09 Random Shoes, Ianto Gets Drunk Again, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 09:50:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11400108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ianto made a mistake - several mistakes.It's still a surprise to Owen when he turns up at a bar, finding Ianto drunker than him.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> this is super short because i hate random shoes, it was super boring and all about gwen, sooo i just did the aftermath of it. it's a bit hard to follow, tbh. (basically, the bond had died, jack actually did want it and now he's super upset at ianto, and ianto was able to see eugene's ghost and communicate with him and also implement ideas in people's minds, it's a mess, i know)

 “So, are you drunk enough yet to tell me why Jack is so angry at you?” Owen’s disembodied voice came from behind Ianto, just before the medic set his own glass of alcohol down on the bartop. It sloshed up against the sides and Ianto was transfixed by it for a moment, smiling deliriously to himself. 

 

 “Why do you care?” he grinned into his next swig of whiskey. It was a testament to his depression that he was drunker than Owen.

 

 “Probably because you’re my friend. And plus, Toshiko isn’t here to comfort you, so I’m biting the bullet and doing it for her,” Owen replied, sitting down on the bar stool next to Ianto. The man beside him was a shell of his former self, eyes reddened - Owen was unsure if it was because of the alcohol or because of how much Ianto must have been crying. 

 

 “I lied to him. Again,” Ianto sighed, leaning his head down against his hands, rubbing harsh at the dry tear tracks over his cheeks. “About the Bond. And about my abilities.”

 

 Owen furrowed his brow, somewhat confused. “Okay, start from the beginning, pal. You, Jack and Tosh went to the crime scene, you saw Eugene’s body and…?”

 

 “And I saw Eugene’s...ghost, I guess. He had swallowed the Dogon Eye, it allowed him to reflect on his life. He could see everyone, but no one but me could see him. It’s one of my newer abilities, one I didn’t tell Jack about.”

 

 “Why not? There’s nothing particularly wrong about that, is there?” Owen asked and Ianto swore under his breath. Owen obviously hadn’t been told the entire story and it wasn’t really something he wanted to tell his only confidant.

 

 “It wasn’t my only new ability.” A pause, in which Ianto drank for a long moment, the liquid courage burning the back of his throat. “I can implement ideas in someone’s mind. I can create thoughts or feelings - and it is very new, not something I even realised that I had until a few days ago. And so, when I told Jack...he assumed that the only reason that h-he...he loved me was because I made him…”

 

 Owen cursed loudly. “The hell? Jack actually thought that?” he cried out, outraged. It didn’t wuite seem like something Jack would do, but Owen had, for some reason, always trusted Ianto that bit more. Perhaps it was because of the Link that they shared. 

 

 Saying that, Ianto did have a tendency to blow things out of proportion when it involved Jack. The immortal meant so much to him that any type of negativity in their relationship caused his heart to break. 

 

 “Probably not, actually. But the way he looked at me, the way it felt made it seem like that. In reality, he probably thought that I’d influenced his decisions in someway, subconsciously or otherwise,” Ianto admitted, laugh just that side of self-deprecating. Owen felt the urge to put his arm around Ianto’s shuddering shoulders, but refrained from it.

 

 “What else? He couldn’t be so angry with you for just that, what else did you do? What about this, er, whazitcalled, this Bond?” Owen’s questions were unrelentless, but Ianto didn’t mind all that much, pleased for the company.

 

 “Yeah, the Bond. It’s this sacred connection for my people. But I let it die. I let it shrivel up and die, because I didn’t think Jack would care, or want it,” Ianto hesitated for a moment, thinking back on how devastated, how betrayed Jack had looked when he told him about the dead Bond. 

 

  _“What about this feeling in my head? With our Link? Is that something else that you put into my head?” Jack demanded, his voice rough and hostile. Ianto felt a pang in his chest at the sound, but batted it down quickly. This conversation - this argument, rather, wasn’t about him._

_  “I...It’s called a Bond. They form naturally between, erm...partners,” Ianto replied, words sticking in his throat as he realised that that probably wasn’t what he and Jack were now. “It’s, er...well, it allows the pair to communicate more freely, to feel each other’s emotions and their pain,” Ianto stopped for a second, unsure whether or not to talk about the way Jack could have used his magic because of the Bond. _

_  Jack’s brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but Ianto beat him to it. “It’s a massive commitment, though. You wouldn’t have wanted it, so...so, I let it die. I didn’t utilise it, so it just...went away.” _

_  Ianto stuttered for a moment, hoping to get out some other meaningless anecdote about how he only did it because he knew Jack didn’t want it, but Jack stopped him, furious. _

_  “You didn’t think to ask me if I wanted it? You just assumed by feelings on the matter and you let something so obviously sacred shrivel up and die?” Jack snapped, voice tinged with an angry disgust.  _

_  Ianto felt tears welling up in his eyes but he tampered them down. Jack must have seen it though, because although he was enraged, his gaze softened slightly. He still cared, so much. _

_  “Ianto, I wanted something like that. I wanted the Bond, with you. And you took that away from me, without ever explaining it to me. You keep lying to me and this isn’t going to work if you aren’t truthful with me.” _

_  Ianto’s heart did snap in two then. “This?” he asked, in reference to the thing Jack had said wasn’t going to work out. “You mean this job? Or-or...our relationship?” Ianto muttered, going half silent as he finished the question. Jack didn’t speak for a moment and Ianto’s trepidation hung like an aura around him.  _

_  “I...I don’t know, Ianto,” Jack sighed. “I just know that I can’t be with you, in anyway, if you keep lying. And I know you, I know you will.” _

_  “Funny,” Ianto chuckled humorlessly, seeing nothing else that he could lose. “People assuming what other’s are or want is exactly how I got in this mess. Bit hypocritical of you to do the exact same.” _

_  Jack didn’t answer and Ianto could swear he felt something inside him crack as Jack stood, still silent, and left.  _

_  It had felt distinctly like he was abandoning more than just the room. _

 

“He dumped you?” Owen asked, voice quiet and somewhat tender. Ianto’s pain must have shown on his face and the medic was simply trying to show his support to the young telepath.

 

 “I guess so,” Ianto muttered, taking a long swallow of whiskey. “Warned me, at least. Things aren’t going to be good tomorrow, when I go back to work. Tosh wasn’t too happy with me either, but...I can deal with it.”

 

 “Perhaps you should go home, Ianto. I don’t think you’re thinking straight if you think you’re gonna be able to deal with tomorrow. It’s going to be hell, and you know it.”

 

 Ianto took one last sip of his drink, exhaustion weighing down his bones. Owen was right - tomorrow was going to be hell. 


End file.
